I am back home and loving the warm and sunshine 🙂 I got back here last Saturday night. I still really feel out of sorts – I feel like I need to have a really good cry and get all these emotions out but I keep holding on to everything and doing my best to keep it together.

I had a one on one meeting with my manager today and started to cry at her but quickly pulled my shit together. I think she thinks I’m crazy! LOL

SO this week in Florida – it has been 90 degrees most days and the humidity has gone up and down, some days are more comfortable than others.
We finally got two of the three doors replaced! They make such a difference! The ones that were there were solid. No light in the laundry room and only one tine 4 by maybe 8 inches in the front door. This half-light in the laundry and center window in the front just brighten up both the spaces so much. He’s coming back to add the slider tomorrow – they are all hurricane windows so the slider is super heavy!

We met the outside kitchen guy over at the house Wednesday. While waiting around for him we saw a Gopher turtle on the side yard. I heard him walking back to his burrow and I was super glad I saw him and knew it was him or I would have been scared to death and thought something was coming out after me!

We were walking around looking at stuff and realized we get a decent breeze off the channel 🙂 When I take pictures I tend to take them of the front, but Wednesday I took a couple from the back and I can not wait until the pool and deck are in…it’s going to be my favorite place!

When we got home, we sat out on our little lanai and enjoyed the evening…what a wonderful night it was.

And finally – My dad is home and healing. He will get his staples out today. He’s antsy and hates asking for help or relying on anyone to do anything for him…so this next 4.5 weeks could be stressful for him as he waits to start doing things himself again.

I need some inspiration to get my fat ass moving and get some of this “happy weight” off. It’s getting worse each week…I need some motivation. You would think looking good in a bikini in that house would be enough – but I’m stuck. Mentally – I’m stuck in this waiting mode.

My Dad is having open heart surgery next week, so I am going to be with him and my mom. The heart surgeon said that he has a good strong heart, he needs to get the plumbing cleaned up 🙂

I have gotten back on some kind of track this week. Started going to the gym and walking each day after work AND logging my food.

As far as all the house “things” we have going on here; The little house has been in a holding pattern- we need all the cash available to pay for the build house upgrades. So after we finished the paint and ceiling, we have just been waiting. We need to pull the carpet, kitchen tile to replace the floors – but we also need to set money aside for new cabinets – AT LEAST lowers when we do the flooring. All the flooring goes under the cabinets so we need to pull them when we do the floor. I think we can re use the granite, but the cabinets are horrid! The sink base is missing half of the back and bottom LOL the two bases on either side of the stove have only half shelves – that is just horrid when it comes to storrage! Maybe I’ll just get open cabinets with NO shelves and put those slide things in!

Our build house is plumbed, HVAC ducting is in and all the electrical is in. Next week while I am gone it looks like we will be getting shingles and a driveway! Then when I come back we should have irrigation, plants and sod. Shortly after that the drywall and stucco will go up! THEN the finishes go in!

We are actually getting to a point where we are going to stop sharing pictures until we move in 🙂 We want a grand reveal!

The windows and doors are in! The drip edge is on the roof and its still not moving fast enough!!!!

UGH – give me some time and I will post much better looking pics. This has been stressful and I eat out of stress 🙂

The site supervisor added some more pictures today! The roof has been “sealed” with the dry in material. It looks like the island area is more defined with the wall the cupboards are mounted to.

All the pocket door frames are hung now, the knee wall by the master shower is now a knee wall and not a full wall 😀 and when we go over there tomorrow it can rain if it wants to because the roof has the rubber sealant stuck to it.

I do love the picture he added standaing at the front door looking all the way across the channel 😍

Sadly – the doors are on the schedule for Friday and that means that we can’t just pop over anymore. THe house will be getting locked up when the subs leave each day after that – I think – it might not until it has “stuff” in it. They are plumbing it today and the electrial will go in next week.

That’s it – Have a great day.

Oh, well I did start a fast today at 12:33 I will not be eating again until Friday at dinner 🙂 Just me and my Snake Juice until then. 🐍🐍🐍 Fast On my friends!!!

So amazing how it’s taking shape. We were thinking about moving in and it’s going to be tight getting things into the spare bedrooms. Into our bedroom won’t be so bad cuz we can go out the main slider and back in our slider.

I’m happy about this! But it is a stressful process. Add a new job and the health issues my dad is facing and I am not managing my stress super good.

The subject of the post is what has me in a mental state today – I dropped my class this weekend. I was really struggling with that class. Statistics in a lot of complex math and I was not in a good state of mind to take the extra time that it was going to take to do halfway decent in that class. I worked all Friday night all Saturday after John went to work to get 90% of what was due last week and then I took a quiz and got a D. Obviously the last two days had not sunk in.

I also need to focus on my health! The last two times I’ve been to the DR my Blood Pressure has been in the pre-High BP range. I am building my dream home with the love of my life! I have to take care of myself so I can enjoy all of this 🙂

Hello All!
I know I have been MIA a lot lately. Between learning my new job and being busy doing my new job, I have not had a ton of time to just muse about things in life and tell you about them. Let’s not forget, classes started again too. So, I’ve been busy.

On the house front:
We have trusses and bearing walls up!

This week they are putting up the interior walls and putting the plywood on the roof. I am so hoping we will be in by Christmas! Mainly because my son and grandson are visiting and I want to be there so we have things to do 🙂 This area does not have tons to do for small kids besides the beach. And being that it will be “in season” the beach will be a bitch! But we will go if that is what we need to do. BUT I’m still hoping to be in by then!

Earlier in the year, I was really hoping to be in by the middle of November so my parents could get down here before they had to stay another winter in Michigan…BUT…We just found out my Dad needs a quadruple by-pass so he will not be traveling for a while. I have told my Mom to make sure she talks to the Dr about their plans when they go for the consult on the 25th, but it probably won’t change much. They could transfer his care to a doctor down here after he was in travel condition, but this will likely keep them there one more winter.

We will be headed to the house tomorrow evening to see what progress has been made. I’m hoping for all the walls and roof deck and possibly the plumbing. Plumbing inspection is supposed to be tomorrow – per the schedule – but that changes weekly 🙂

So, all my friends and family reading this are probably starting to cool off while we are still seeing 90’s daily 🙂 I’m really looking forward to the Snow pictures! Snow is the best when viewed in pictures!!!

The daily rains will be letting up soon and we will cool off a bit and be less humid and then it will be our season!!! June to September is a bit steamy and we do a lot of inside things in the AC, where up north from October to April most people hang out inside and stay warm…we both have our season to avoid – but I for sure prefer my season to avoid being outside than the one I used to avoid 🙂

That’s kind of funny – Your average cycle is 28 days, and based on that I won’t be “blessed” with that on my Birthday 😂 Ha it’s 18 days to my birthday not 28, its 28 until my sister visits..

I know I have been SUPER quiet here. I have been super quiet all over my social accounts apparently LOL My Mom texted me the other day to see what was wrong cuz I’ve been so quiet. It’s just life seriously. Just living and withdrawing into myself like I do when I am overthinking the world.

John recently got a job and starts sort of this Saturday, sort of next Wednesday. He as a four-hour Orientation on Saturday and has an 8 hour day in the store next week where he gets to watch all the training videos and such. So Paychecks will begin soon, but more importantly, we will start to get some kind of rhythm to life. Go to work, come home, make dinner, go to the gym…all of these things 🙂 Especially the go to the gym part LOL

I swear in the last two months I have lost and gained the same 5 pounds at least 3 times!!!!!!!!! I feel like I am just holding on. Waiting for things to become normal. I think John getting back to work is going to be the biggest part of getting normal. No matter what shift it is if we can get a rhythm going that will be all I need to get a rhythm going in my personal choices too.

It’s super hard to be super strict with him not working. It’s way to easy to eat when he eats and WHAT he eats LOL

Anyway, I wanted to share a couple pictures we took of the house last night when we drove be. Super Excited!!!!😍😍😍

Tomorrow is my Friday! I have Thursday and Friday off to go meet with the builders designer and the vendors. We pick out lighting and cabinets Thursday and do the pool design on Friday 😍

The builder uploaded some new photos of the build! Based on the calendar it looks like we should have walls and trusses and maybe even inside walls by my birthday! Not a house ready to move into but at least the skeleton of one!

Last week while I was gone we had a roof put on this house! Sadly while the roofers were putting on the new shingles one of the nails punctured the freon line for the AC and we (WE ha! my gorgeous husband that was here all alone dying in the heat while I was in the AC in a hotel in Ohio) had to hire a contractor to fix it. Sadly they came out on the same day as the puncture, but they didn’t make it back until about 5:00 PM the next night to fix it. It was a long hot night for John and the dogs. By the time I got home on Thursday night, I had a new roof and the house was cool again.

We are now actively getting the ceiling in place. The house has slopes front to back but also side to side…so the trusses run front to back and at the ends they turn and run out. So the hanging system for the ceiling has been fun to locate the roof trusses to screw the rails into LOL But we are making progress. The Master is done, except the trim and John is working on the living room/dining room as I type. I am working in my room today because the kitchen table needed to be moved into the kitchen for him to move around out there and get as much done as he can so I can (hopefully) work from my space tomorrow. This is the picture from the Anderson ceiling tile website. We are not putting up a crown molding through, we are using a 1X3 pine board painted white. We have used this for trim before and like the look. I will share pictures once it’s done-done.

I am currently watching my food intake via the IIFYM website. (If It Fits Your Macros) and I think I am pretty happy with my food choices and I feel full and all the good things. I can say that between 1:30-2:30 are my snacky times and I have to really focus to not just grab all of the crap and throw it in my face LOL

and one final thing…Look up at those pictures of the house again: notice how high the blocks are? That is just the stem wall. The slab will be poured ON that! The height of that wall is where our floors will begin! This house is going to look HUGE! Because they will stucco the part of those blocks that are above ground right along with the walls so it will look super tall and – AND from the lanai we will have a very elevated view of the channel and I just CAN NOT WAIT to get on that pad and walk around and image what my views will be like!!!! 💙💚💛💜

We have now been here a whole month! Well, as of July 3rd, we slept here the first night June 3rd 🙂 We got our Florida drivers license on Tuesday and my picture turned out so good, which is rare 🙂
In the past month we have painted every room in this house, had the cement pool deck removed and planted grass seed, scheduled the roof replacement (next Monday), purchased all new doors (Install to be scheduled when they are delivered) and purchased all new windows (Installation not until October/November) AND finally purchased and have in our possession the planks for the ceiling throughout.
The current ceiling is popcorn that is falling off…litterally. LIKE in sheets! We will start putting up the EASY UP system this Saturday and maybe a bit Sunday. BUT I have to leave for Cleveland later Sunday so we will need to make sure we grocery shop for John and the dogs food while I’m gone.

This is a picture of the ceiling planks we are putting up. We are going to use like 2 inch pine as trim and not a crwon molding. Crown molding is a beast to cut.

WOW 67 Days I had all these big goals and plans to be thin and sexy by my 50th birthday LOL I still have 67 days, but I am not entirely sure what my brain is capable of making my body do in these next 67 days LOL

I put on my bikini in the AM with a cover-up over it and then work, at lunch, I go to the sun for 15 minutes on each side then hit the shower. I will slowly get a tan and not risk getting a bad burn doing it oo fast. When we go to the beach I like to be there and enjoy the crap out of it, but so far I have stayed under the umbrella.

I’m super frustrated. I KNOW I need to do something, but I can’t seem to make myself DO anything. It will have to be in the evening. I need to start setting up a schedule for me or I’ll never do anything, but enjoy living in Florida LOL and that is not so bad. BUT I want to feel comfortable and be able to wear clothes appropriate for the weather.

We got the quote back for the windows – MUCH less than I had feared! Now, as soon as the electrician comes tomorrow and we find out how bad the HIT on our budget is going to be to chase down this ghost I will make the decisions on windows, ceilings, and floors.

We went to dinner last night for the first time since my sister left. We have been very good at making our own food and doing things around the house.

Tonight I am thinking I want to go for a ride up to Siesta Key Beach tonight and catch the sunset. It’s a bitch to go to these places on the weekends because everyone wants to go then. However, the kids are all out of school so it may be just as bad tonight.

Maybe we’ll just stay home and paint! have lots to do! Have a great night all!!

The Universe is testing my resolve to stay upbeat and cheerful!
We had to open a work order for the Cable/Internet company the day after we got here because only one of the cable outlets in the house had a live signal. That tool until yesterday to happen. The tech gets here and says he can’t run a new line for the Master because they don’t let cable tech’s do that anymore. You have to call an Electrician! So the route supervisor stops by last night and asks if we were happy with the service and was everything working as expected.

John tells him no actually up in Michigan tech can run lines and hook up new cables. The supervisor was a bit confused and said, the techs can do that if its straight through the wall. But they can’t go into attics and run them across a house or many rooms. SO the tech was supposed to come back last night. He never did. This morning the route supervisor called back and said do I need to stop by to check on the work or does everything look OK? I said he never came back. He kind of chuckled and said I was afraid of that 🙁

A while late he calls back and he says the tech and his supervisor will be over this morning to finish the job. By 11:00 we had 3 service tech type people here and they were working on getting things all taken care of.

NOW – John threw his back out last week and it’s slowly been getting worse! Today first thing we went and met our new Chiropractor 🙂 He is super smart and I am happy we found him. John has to go back tomorrow for an adjustment – because they wanted his X-Ray’s from up north before they adjusted him. But because of this pain, we slept in the spare room last night because that matress is firmer than ours. I plugged my charger into an open plug and plugged in my phone and life went on. Today while trying to get the cable going the tech realized we have no electricity in the bedroom. After an hour of looking all over and flipping circuit breakers, we discovered that plug I had plugged into last night has an issue. I unplugged the charger and it sparked, but then the power was back on. But soon it flickered and when out again. So we have an electrician coming Friday. Until then, we will not use the plugs in the bedrooms LOL

This better be a simple plug issue and not a whole house issue!!!!

OK, I have an appointment so I need to go! It kind of sucks finding all new service providers. I keep my bikini area waxed and going to a new person to do that is so embarrassing and awkward LOL BUT soon it will be old news and I’ll just chat their ear off while they do their work LOL